my home team

I honestly don't think that this guy has any intentions of ever playing in our league . If he does it will be as an absolute last resort , not because he wants to play here . Just observing and listening to him , he comes across as if the CFL is beneath him and that in his mind he is too good to play in such an inferior league . The fact that he would rather play in a glorified Beer League for nothing as opposed to signing here for $150,000 speaks volumes about his over self inflated ego and his over the top illusions of grandeur about how great he supposedly is . The dudes a legend in his own mind . Like I said previously , good luck to him .

Obviously, he hasn't noted the number of players who've come from this league and went to the NFL.

Oh yeah, the great football machine to the south is going to take his adventures in the beer league, where he has to pay for the privilege, and his competition are weekend warriors, a lot more seriously.

Don't know how he's going to see any grandeur in that.

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blackandgld

This is probably the best thing for JMs future. But what has to happen is he puts in a proper amount of preparation, works out, stays clean all with a finish line being only a couple months away. If he cant do this for a couple months he is of no use to The Cats or any other football team.It also gets his name back in the media and people will talk about him.

I wouldn't mind if The NFL Bills signed him to compete for a roster spot. My second fav football team.

Drew has a good grasp of what is happening. I suggest all the Manziel haters read this and let it sink in. I wish him well and if I was in his position, I'd want a chance anywhere to show I can still play...even if it is this.

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I believe Cookie Gilchrist is the most complete football player of all time. He belongs in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame!

ExPat

Drew has a good grasp of what is happening. I suggest all the Manziel haters read this and let it sink in. I wish him well and if I was in his position, I'd want a chance anywhere to show I can still play...even if it is this.

I'm not sure what part of the article you expect will be news to the "haters". I imagine some people have no particular emotions about a player they have never met, but think it would be a mistake for the Ticats to commit to someone who will be absolutely desperate to leave the moment he has any success here. And equally desperate to leave if he does not have immediate success.

Today's news and Johnny's recent PR campaign illustrate just how desperate and single-minded he is about getting back to the NFL, so I can't see that changing anyone's minds about what a prize he would be for a CFL team. With a good season here he would make Victor Butler seem like the Employee of the Year in comparison.

Killer91

Valentines day and the Ticats Man Crush on Manziel seems to be over. How approporiate.

Wow, he went from the greatest player in the history of the CFL potentially to the Cats wishing him well in his endeavours. It seems like yesterday, that super duper work out Johnny had in Buffalo that Austin couldn't wipe the grin off his face for months after.

The part of the article that stands out to me is the part about the time Manziel doesn't appear to have for the CFL or the time he is not willing to put in to improving himself through the CFL speaks volume.

Thanks Johnny for saving us from ourselves and keeping a perfect off season new year in tact for Ticats management.

I think after last spring/summer, Ticat management finally learned their lesson and has done all the right things this year! Thanks Johnny. Be good.

TravelPat1

Valentines day and the Ticats Man Crush on Manziel seems to be over. How approporiate.

Or is the Man Crush just on hold for awhile?

Quote

The team put out a statement shortly after the news emerged (on Twitter of course) of Manziel’s plans that wished him well, the kind of obtuse sentiment that led some to believe the team was issuing a don’t-let-the-door-hit-you-in-behind decree. Not so vice president of football operations Kent Austin clarified in an interview with TSN1150.

“We understand that for Johnny, this is the next opportunity for him to put on the uniform, put on a helmet and play the game that he loves. It’s just a couple of exhibition games so we wish him well in that endeavour,” Austin said. “We’ll continue to monitor that, scout it, watch it like everybody else and continue to have an open dialogue with him and his agent going forward.”

Indeed, there’s nothing here that precludes Manziel from playing with the Ticats in 2018.

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ExPat

"Nothing precludes" is not the same as "nothing has changed". It just isn't.

Yes, Johnny could still sign here. BUT:

- he has not accepted any offer the team has made in good faith over the past 5 weeks or so- he has publicly referred to his CFL offer as "guaranteed" (i.e. arguably taking it for granted) while making it clear that his only real goal is the NFL- if he gets even the slightest sniff from the NFL after his spring league performance - which is the one and only reason for joining that league - there is zero chance he signs with us until all NFL hope is fully extinguished, and that could take weeks or months- Ticats have added two other CFL-experienced QBs to their roster, reducing the need for Johnny- Ticats have allocated at least some of their free agent dollars and may continue to allocate more in the coming days and weeks, leaving less salary cap room for an expensive backup QB

Sorry if there is something I am not grasping here, but I think a window that was once wide open is now reduced to a small crack.